A Lion Hearted Girl
by all the glitters
Summary: Teen Idol goes to Hogwats. Sixth-Year student, Jenny is great at sorting out other people’s problems. Yet, she is unaware of her own until popular actor, Luke Striker, arrives and she is assigned to show him around. AU: set in Potterverse. Luke & Jenny.
1. Of tigers and film stars

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Meg Cabot's characters in _Teen Idol_. Nor do I own J.K. Rowling's world. I am using Cabot's characters, borrowing Rowling's props and this is my stage. No copyright infringement was intended. The title of the story is from the song, 'Rabbit Heart,' by Florence + the Machine.

Author's note: Set at Hogwarts, this story is about a Sixth-Year student by the name of Jenny Greenley. She is kind, a very 'girl-next-door' type and is excellent at sorting out other people's problems. The irony is that she is completely unaware of her own, but when Luke Striker arrives at school and she is assigned to show him around, things begin to change. _A Lion-Hearted Girl _is an AU reinvention of _Teen Idol_ with the same characters within the surroundings of Potterverse. I'm hoping that this will span up to fifteen or so chapters and work as a multi-chaptered story. Like the other stories I've written, there will be a large focus on Luke and Jenny.

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A Lion-Hearted Girl

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Chapter One: Of tigers and film stars

As Cara Schlossberg's legs were tangled together and away walked Kurt Schraeder, I once again muttered the counter-curse with my wand. Fifth time this month, I counted in annoyance. With a big sniff, the Hufflepuff girl ran towards the bathroom.

Oh darn, I realized that today… Moaning Myrtle would be there and I, for one, _did not _want to see her ghostly presence as I followed Cara. Her footsteps were heavy – and I couldn't blame her for that exactly. I didn't want to be mean – and I knew that I wasn't mean, but the girl was not thin by any standards.

"Kurt!" I screamed, turning back as I remembered the menacing Slytherin was still there. How could he do such a thing? Cara wasn't at all likeable… but she _had_ tried so hard to get all the other Sixth Year students to like her when she arrived earlier this year. Come to think of it, I would admit that Hogwarts wasn't a nice place. Sure, it looked beautiful in the autumn and I must admit that the uniforms were adorable, but if she didn't fit in her own house, where else would she be?

We Gryffindors acted indifferently towards her mostly, but I had always talked to her when she was upset.

Kurt Schraeder turned around with his "friends" and here, I use the word very loosely… He grabbed his bag as they exited the Great Hall.

I said her name, watching her crying at the sink. Surely enough I was right about one thing – Myrtle stood behind Cara with her arms crossed, an amused expression and a raising eyebrow. "Oooh, look who's here?"

"Not now…" I found myself saying as always, shaking my head. I inched closer towards Cara, putting my arm on her shoulder as I offered a smile, a small gesture that she had noticed as she studied her puffy eyes in the mirror.

"They were _so _mean to me…" she said. "They Conjured a cow's nose and started mooing, "Cara Cow." That's not my name, Jen!"

I patted her shoulder, nodding along as I spoke.

"You know that, don't you?" she asked, her eyes teary and smudged with that pink eyeliner Courtney Deckard, a popular Slytherin girl,had been wearing lately and in order to impress her, Cara had followed suit. I personally thought that the girls resembled red skunks, but who was I to speak?

My features are nothing but ordinary. I knew that without looking into the mirror in the bathroom... I had hazel eyes, light brown hair – pleasant, but nothing exotic and nothing special. I was fine with it though – I always had been. If I made an effort, perhaps… if I took my head out of that Charms textbook, I could have looked at the final pages of girly magazines and looked at makeup, trends. I worked at the offices of _Witch Weekly _as what Muggles might refer to as an "intern" and I helped out with other tiny things as well throughout the school year.

"Of course I do," I insisted, pulling out a handkerchief from my pocket. When I handed it to her, I was confronted with a cold glare.

"It's red," she said, pointing at the embroidery of a Gryffindor lion with a frown.

I told her to just take it. While she wiped her tears with as much dignity as she could muster, I bit my lip. I realized that perhaps one of the reasons why Cara didn't have any friends at Hogwarts was the fact that she didn't know how to show appreciation for people. She didn't understand how important it was to be grateful and to take the help you could get. I recognized the sound of a swishing wand and the door opened.

Professor McGonagall stood there, recognition in her eyes as she looked at Cara and me. She pointed at her watch. "You better get to your classes – the day has begun."

-

'Hi, Jenny,' a fellow prefect and a brilliant Ravenclaw girl said as I walked by.

Between first and second period, Scott had caught up to greet me with a kiss. His blue tie bounced as he walked towards me, grinning.

'Hey, Jen,' a boy from the year above said. I nodded quickly, but hadn't turned towards him. Instead, I smiled at Scott.

Books poked out from his messenger bag – there was a Charms textbook, another one on Ancient Runes and a Muggle science fiction book. I had introduced him to the genre during our Fifth Year when he had visited my parents" house in Clayton, a small town south of London. My father had loved him, despite that we had only dated for five months at the time, but then again, why wouldn't he? He was a fantastic boyfriend and loved him I did.

Trina stuck out her tongue, waving slightly as she said, "Morning, Scott. Your hair looks funny."

"Hi, Trina," he said, not even glancing at her as he gazed at me. "You smell nice." He took a step closer and nuzzled against my hair.

I laughed a little, pressing a small kiss on his cheek in response. His hand held mine for a few seconds before Trina pulled me away. "It takes at least five minutes to get to the grounds." She paused, a finger to her lips. Oh goodness, it was going to be a long day! My best friend, Catrina Larssen, only did this when she wanted to be _emphasize _things… It was a technique she had learnt during a summer course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, a prestigious school for theatre students in the Muggle world. I had heard about it even as a child and I was not at all involved in the arts the way Trina was.

Her parents - belonging to a well-known family in Wizarding Britain – had wanted her to spend more time studying before school starts, but they were also clever to enough to know that this girl could not be convinced to do anything. The forty-five year old, Andrea Larrsen, had made a mistake of allowing her daughter to watch the stage play, _Waiting for Godot_ at West End – _God forbid, where Muggles frequented _– when she heard that a American popular actor by the name of Luke Striker was starring in a film version of the play.

While I had never admittedly seen any of his films, but just thinking about Luke Striker had made my head ache as I saw what a mistake it had been to leave my Muggle magazines lying around for Trina to find and for Trina to fall in love with Luke's face! My mother often sent them to remind me of my "upbringing" as the woman kindly calls it.

"See you," Scott laughed as he neared the end of the corridor. I smiled and told him that I'd meet him after our classes.

"We should Apparate!" a voice said.

"Just because we are licensed does not mean that we're allowed to break the school rules and Apparate _inside_, Trina. Let us just run to class."

-

Professor Rubeus Hagrid was a strange man and I don't think anyone will convince me of otherwise. The man who taught us all about Magical Creatures was loving, kind and offered a shoulder when I needed to cry – I cared for this man and that was why I had noticed that the glimmer in his eyes was now gone.

"Time you girls joined us," he mused with a slight smile as we reached the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. "Must've forgot to bring yer watches again, eh?" He instructed us the class to open up our books and we did.

I caught sight of Kurt looking around as Trina and I took our seats on a rock. He was surrounded by his other Slytherin friends and they were all leaning against a large tree trunk. Green ties, tucked shirts and a suffocating sense of arrogance, I observed. I glared at him, mouthing, "Give her back."

He blinked, then chuckled and mouthed something to his friends, who laughed as well.

Meanwhile, Hagrid was flicking through the textbook and instructing us to answer the questions on page twelve.

"Give her back," I repeated, louder this time. I was referring to the stuffed toy Hagrid often carried around. After a series of horrible incidents, Hagrid was issued with a warning from the Ministry of Magic telling him that he was no longer allowed to take care of creatures, magical or not… I didn't mind the fact that we're mostly reading off our textbooks and going off to research during class time, because as adorable as I think animals are, I was not great outdoors and I was not great with animals. I did better with books. That being said, my heart broke for Hagrid – he had loved animals, _talking _about animals, but since the man was now strictly prohibited from looking after them, he would often pat the Muggle stuffed toy in his pocket. It looked a bit like a tiger, but instead of orange – it was blue-coloured. I heard that some of his favourite students in the year above us had given Teddy the Tiger to him to cheer him up after everything that had happened.

Kurt shook his head, shooting his friends a mocking look as they rolled their eyes at me.

I lifted my wand as threateningly as I could, but he just grinned menacingly.

"Gryffindors never have their fun..." he said and with that, I shoved my wand iback in my sleeve, because I knew that I had lost this battle. I was fighting for a lost cause after all and I was wasting my time.

Oh Merlin… I could still imagine the tiger wincing as Kurt squished his tail and pushed it into the inside of his robes!

He had just said, 'Relax, Jen. It is a _joke_.'

-

I shared a room with Trina on the left bed and on my right was Geri-Lynn Packard. She was a beautiful girl and this was a fact =no one would dare argue with, not even the equally stunning Trina; Geri had big green eyes, delicate features and an aura of blonde hair, but her angelic appearance could be deceiving, because we all knew that this outspoken, confident young woman had _quite_ the temper. In fact, if you asked anyone – they'd remind you of the Quidditch game last year. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin – after she became upset that a Beater had hit her with hisbat rather painfully, she drew her wand as if to duel the Slytherin captain. So when Madame Hooch confiscated their wands via _Accio_ and asked them to step off their brooms and onto the ground, she launched towards him and slapped him hard across his face.

Needless to say, no one would be brave enough to talk back to Geri-Lynn ever since. While I had never tried defying her wishes, it wasn't as though we were friends either; we have never been close and I was sure that my so-called demeanour was a bit too 'sugary' or 'girl next door' for her to ever appreciate, but I'd call her an acquaintance and certainly someone I had to put up with and converse with on a daily basis.

Of course it didn't quite help that rumour had it she had a thing for Scott...

'We're going to Hogsmeade,' Trina said when I came in. Her legs looked long and endless as she kicked up, sprawling across her bed. 'Steve and I –Flourish & Blotts had sent me a notification this morning when you were still asleep and they had added a new Muggle section – there are books and DVs.'

'DVDs, Trina. DVDs.' Call me awful but I loved correcting her sometimes, since she could say the most ridiculous things. I was never bothered by this mixed-blood, pureblood business as this was post-war; this was another generation, a newer time… but goodness, it was still rare to see Pureblooded wizards becoming more interested in _our _culture. I was happy. However, there were other things on my mind, things that I knew I _should stay out of_... 'I thought that you wanted to break up with Steve.'

Her eyebrows were knitted and she paused thoughtfully. 'I did – I mean, I do… but ever since you let me read that magazine of yours, I want to see that film with Luke Striker. I swear, Jen, I'm in love.'

'He's a Muggle actor,' I moaned. 'And he's _American_! You will probably _never _get to see him.'

'Which explains why I'll be buying that DV – DVD...' She lifted a notepad from her bedside table. She pointed at one page and the title read, _Skies Fall_. 'According to _OK!_ _– _'

I told her that I barely read a single issue – I mostly kept them in my room to soothe my own conscience when my mother asked if I even had the courtesy to _keep _any of the magazines.

She beamed. 'According to _OK!_, the film is Oh-scar-worthy.' I didn't bother to correct her this time. I thought it would be best to let the mispronounced reference slide. Besides, I knew that she was lying – she wasn't _just _going to buy the DVD and forget about it.

When _Witch Weekly_'s agony aunt had moved to Australia during the summer after getting herself in a serious case of plagiarism, an associate editor had been insane enough to ask me to take over, instead of forever ordering glasses of Butterbeer from Wizarding London for the writers. And even crazier enough, my column had garnered attention from witches around the United Kingdom! That was why the magazine still asked me to visit their offices every month or so in order to help out. When others go off to Switzerland with their families – Trina – or when they went back home to Surrey, I often visited my parents before going to the office to answer some of the readers' pleading questions… One of these readers was the lovely Trina Larssen, who sent an Owl at least every other week and her messages were always in regards to Luke Striker. Luke Striker this, Luke Striker that. Most of her letters went like this: 'Luke Striker is such a brilliant actor – and I want to meet him! What should I tell my strict Wizarding parents? They'll never let this union be!'

Seriously, she actually used the word, 'union!'

Although we only published a few letters we received, we were subject to responding to all of them. I replied to Trina's letters of course – she quoted Ask Annie more than anyone should in a_ real-life situation _and I honestly didn't know whether to be happy about that or not.

Sometimes, I wondered if she suspected that I was the anonymous columnist at her favourite magazine since it had been Trina who had pointed out that _I _was the one who had always been the first to 'smooth things over' when arguments arose. It was during the Christmas holiday when my parents had asked me to go with them to Edinburgh to attend an interior designers' conference. My best friend had thrown a birthday party the week before Christmas and had insisted that I went. She told me that I was the 'mayonnaise' that held things together and she was proven correct when I couldn't attend her gathering. Her friend Angela arrived in crimson robes, which were similar to Megan's. Harsh words were exchanged ('How dare you copy my dress?') and before anyone saw it coming, Megan had Hexed Angela and snails began biting at the poor girl's feet.

If I were there, I would have told them to stop it. I would have told them to sit away from each other as they ate Trina's five-tiered birthday cake. So, really, sometimes... I wondered if Trina was truly ignorant of my position at the magazine or if she indeed reckoned that I helped out with the layout as I told her I did.

'I heard that Luke had a little tryst with his co-star Angelique Tremaine,' Trina said as I combed my hair.

'Will you two stop talking – ' a muffled voice said as Geri's pretty head popped out from her duvet, her bed by the window. 'Wait. Did you say Luke Striker? Isn't that the one we saw in Jenny's Muggle magazine?'

Trina nodded furiously, coming to a halt as she realized how enthusiastic Geri had become. 'He is mine!'

'Goodnight, girls,' Geri said, ignoring Trina. 'I need my sleep. You girls might consider that idea too. Especially you, Jen, your eye-bags are rather… _prominent_.'

For Merlin's sake, I wasn't at all surprised to hear that I looked exhausted from all that I had to handle within one day! Was it even humanly possible? To add the bruised (and tired) cherry on top, I didn't even get to have what Geri-Lynn called my 'beauty sleep' as McGonagall dragged me out of my bed, from the Gryffindor common rooms to the Headmaster's office. Apparently, Hogwarts would play home to a celebrated actor and like the awful 'twist' of a story that the readers saw coming, I knew that life would be ironic enough to ensure that the visiting actor would be the one we had spent a good part of the night discussing.

-

'What an exquisite waste of time,' Professor Snape had said as I reached for a lemon sherbet, feeling rather uncomfortable in my seat as I looked at Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore. The Headmaster's office was filled with books on subjects I've never heard of and there were astounding artefacts hung from the lamps. An object that had seemed the most fascinating to me was a small sphere with a tiny globe inside and while it moved, the colours changed as if there were fires and storms.

Professor Dumbledore followed my gaze and gave me a small wink. 'Miss Greenley, our apologies. We had not intended to see you until tomorrow, but plans have altered and Mr. Striker will be here as of this morning.'

'This morn – '

'It is past midnight, Miss Greenley,' McGonagall said.

'He will wear glasses and will be disguised through Polyjuice potion,' Dumbledore explained, continuing our conversation as if Snape had not uttered the rude comment to begin with. Actor, Luke Striker, was researching a role for his latest film in which he would play a British student. He grew up in California and has worked since he was a young child, so he felt that he needed to 'immerse himself in the British culture.' He was to keep a low profile. That was where the lovely Snape came in... 'An anonymous donor, but it will not be a full transformation and we are not sure what this means, but his mother tells us that he is allergic tofluxweed and thus, it had to be replaced by – '

'I used an alternative, but its effects will not be known until the boy chooses to drink the potion,' Snape put in quickly, his words biting as though this was the last place he wanted to be. He then began to list the _many possible effects, including _something, something, something. I easily tuned him out and began counting the number of wrinkles on McGonagall's forehead to busy myself.

'I've always thought that he was a Muggle,' I mused to no one in particular.

McGonagall had explained that Luke Striker was born to two talented wizards, Serene and Patrick Striker, who had allowed their son to go into the Muggle acting business when he was playing on the swings in Central Park and subsequently 'discovered' by a casting director. Apparently, he enjoyed appearing in his first Doritos commercial. His mother was one of the few American alumna and had decided that the best place to keep a secret was at her oldschool, especially considering that Muggles weren't exactly known for their discretion…

Then again, once any hot-blooded girl learns of his identity – Muggle or witch – I was convinced that he would be mobbed.

"You want me to help out." I had gathered that much from the way they were elaborating on every detail to me as though I was an important part of it all.

McGonagall nodded. "Luke's mother is a valued connection to our school and we believe that you would be a wonderful guide to Mr. Striker. You could take him around with you to your classes – answer his questions. I am told that he is a curious, young man. Deflect anyone who becomes suspicious, so that he can really see what Hogwarts would be like without anyone knowing who he is." She paused. "What do you think?"

I was tired and I was certain that the clock behind McGonagall's head read one o'clock, so I said, "I think it's fine." Truthfully, though, it sounded like the most ridiculous thing ever. Did the administration and few of the greatest wizards of our time actually think that they no one would realize who Luke Striker was? Even though witches and wizards were not familiar with Muggle culture, this actor wasincredibly famous and most of us knew his name... Did Dumbledore think that calling him "Lucas Smith" – and no, you had heard me correctly – would confuse the students into thinking otherwise?

Trina practically worshiped him the ground he walked on! The professors and Luke Striker, I suspected, must have been underestimating the intelligence of my fellow students at Hogwarts!

"We do not need to disrupt the students' studies more so than we already have, so, if you can, Miss Greenley, please return to your room."

I bade farewell to the teachers, ignoring the Snape's condescending voice as I left.

-

Author's note: That's all from me for the first chapter. Read and review as you wish. I'd appreciate comments of any kind, since I'm just going with the story to see how everything will flow. I haven't got a thorough plan, so any and all ideas are most definitely welcome.


	2. Of exams and rest

Disclaimer: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to J.K. Rowling and Meg Cabot, this work of fiction is intended to be transformative commentary on the originals. No profit is being made from this work. No copyright infringement was intended. The title of the story is from the song, 'Rabbit Heart,' by Florence + the Machine.

Author's note: _A Lion-Hearted Girl _is an AU reinvention of _Teen Idol_ with the same characters within the surroundings of Potterverse. There is a lot more interaction between Luke and Jenny.

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A Lion-Hearted Girl

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Chapter Two: Of exams and rest

I woke up earlier than I would normally do, writing a letter as I greeted Aries, my brown owl, with a smile as the sun came up. I told my parents about my week, my strange little assignment involving a film star whose face they would see from time to time in the Entertainment section of _The Times _as well as how my classes were thus far. It was only September at the end of the day – there was only so much I could say!

I almost fell straight back to sleep, head on the desk with a quill in my hand. I found this out the hard way when Trina hit me on my back with force and ink spilled onto my blue pyjamas. Opening my eyes, I saw that Trina was now brushing her teeth furiously, all the while banging on the bathroom door. "Open up, Geri!"

"I am almost done. There is no reason for you to rush me!"

I read through my schedule for the day and groaned when I saw that there was a mandatory Quidditch session after sixth period. I have never been very athletic and despite that I had tried convincing myself otherwise, I could barely mount a broom, let alone do fancy tricks a hundred meters above the ground like my roomates could.

"Geri!" Trina screamed. I pushed past her and whispered, "Alohomora," as the door swung open and I saw Geri gargle in her yellow t-shirt and matching short-shorts. She smiled forcefully and looked at Trina, who was now sitting on her bed impatiently.

"All you had to do was _not _to yell at me," Geri-Lynn declared at Trina. "I would have let you in."

-

Flitwick giggled as our class became restless, copying pages seventy to seventy eight. Our professor waved at me as he mumbled a spell, allowing last week's exam papers to land on each of our desks as soon as he saw that most of us completed today's task.

I was sandwiched between Scott and Trina. I groaned, holding the piece of paper in my hand. I didn't want to flip it over just yet, but I had heard students around me sighing and more sounds of ruffling paper.

Kwang Lee leaned over, tapping my shoulder as I turned around. I saw the friendly face of the Ravenclaw, who was Scott's best friend and equally clever... "What did you get, Greenley?' He showed me his paper: ninety-two percent.

I flipped over mine, preparing to wince as I – oh! Ninety-seven percent! I squealed with delight as Scott laughed. "Why aren't you a Ravenclaw?'

I shrugged as Trina groaned and hit my head with a Charms textbook. "Loser," she teased.

"Wonderful, Miss Greenley, Miss Bane, Mister Lee and the – the other Ravenclaw boy. Well done, Mister Scott Bennett. All achieving over ninety percent! Wonderful!" The professor clapped his hands happily. Despite that I had done well for my Charms test, I was thrown off when Flitwick asked me to stay after class.

With an apologetic frown, he only started speaking when the classroom was filled and the students made their way to the Great Hall to eat.

"Sir, I swear that I didn't cheat or anything. I would never! I had just read the notes from the text book and the study guide, like you told us to and I would never, ever cheat – '

"Don't be silly," he said quickly. "We know that you would never do anything that was remotely dishonest. Besides, there is no reason for you to be afraid!" I then knew that he wasn't telling me off for cheating in class, so what was he talking to me about?

"I am concerned about your participation in the Sorcerers."

What? I have never missed a single session of the Sorcerers, which was the name of our school choir. I arrive on time and frankly, other than working at the _Witch Weekly _magazine, I didn't have other activities. I couldn't be labelled as a "concerned' member! When I told him this, except for the bit about which publication, he shook his head and offered me a kind smile.

"I must have put things the wrong way. What I _meant _to say was that you are – you are not exactly a gifted musician."

Hmmm, that I could live with.

He continued, his white moustache bobbing up and down comically. "Which is why I want you to consider… consider singing a bit softer – how does that sound?'

"That sounds _fine_. Thank you, Professor. I will – ' I breathed. "I will keep it in mind."

He patted my shoulder. "Off you go." Turning on my heel to meet my friends in the Great Hall, I heard Flitwick saying, "Well done on that test though!"

"Thank you, sir," I responded easily. He was right – I would probably never be good at singing, but I still wanted to show some kind of commitment, to prove to myself that I could be strong enough to stick with something I was not talented at.

-

"Miss Greenley, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you now."

Taking another bite meringue pie, I chastely kissed Scott on his cheek and felt his hand release from mine. "I'll be right back," I said, leaving him with Trina. I bit my tongue as I saw Geri sitting across from them with a chocolate in her mouth.

-

Arriving before his office, I started to whisper spells to unlock the Headmaster's stairs when they didn't move. "Professor!" I shouted. "Professor!"

"Miss Greenley?' a male voice said from behind. I turned to see who the speaker was and even before I did, I knew who it was immediately.

Instead of the blonde hair and blue eyes I had registered in my head, I was greeted by a redhead. He was tall, actually handsome and well-muscled. He grinned at me, amused at my shocked expression. I didn't know whether it was his casual stance or the way he had so deliberately tucked in his shirt or maybe it was the pair of black Converses he wore, but there was something completely _American _about Luke Striker. His face didn't look all that different – the same strong jaw and the similar patrician features I recognized from the magazines.

He pointed at me and chuckled. "Jenny, nice to meet you."

Students walked past us, but I was still standing there, not moving. No one was paying attention to him and no one was paying attention to Professor McGonagall either, who was beginning to look irritated by the idea of escorting a Muggle film star.

"I'll leave you two to it," she said, shooting me a look as she strolled towards the courtyard, probably, to yell at someone.

"Jenny…' he repeated and I looked up to meet his eyes – now ordinary brown ones. He wore a loose-fitting, grey sweater, a white Oxford shirt and the same red tie I wore. Grey trousers and those trainers I've always mentioned. His red hair was longer as well and he seemed a lot taller than I thought he'd be. After all, celebrities never looked their true height when appearing in commercials. The guy who was standing here, with his hands in his back pockets, looked no more than a movie star than I did – I was impressed.

"Hello there," I said awkwardly, leaning against the stone wall. "I thought that you would be here by breakfast time, not lunch."

"Yeah, well. My ticket said stuff about being at platform nine and three quarters. It was like five in the morning and I had to find it and I was carrying about five bags – I went off to platform four and platform three instead."

To my surprise, I laughed. I felt myself relaxing a bit, but before I could fully appreciate this moment, I saw his eyes crinkle as he grinned. And here, my cheeks felt hot and I knew that I was blushing because _Luke Striker had nodded at me_. Quite ridiculous if you ask me! I had never expected to feel this way. I wasn't even a fan of his films!

Something was wrong, very wrong.

"Where's the Headmaster?' I said.

"He's not here. He just told me to meet you here." He pulled out a shrunken schedule, asking, "What period are we now?' The paper in his hand was upside down and I wondered if he could read it properly – Americans were strange…

"Lunch ends in two minutes."

"Oh, we have Arithmancy after break then?'

"Care of Magical Creatures, Quidditch," I said. "Let's – let's go… Luke."

"Lucas," he corrected me with a smile. "It's Lucas Smith." He pulled out a fair of black-rimmed glasses from his packet and put them on, looking every bit any other Hogwarts student should.

-

When Hagrid's class ended, I led Luke towards the pitch. He was more talkative than I thought he would be, especially after sneaking in a glass of Butterbeer (I had protested by saying, "You can't drink that on school grounds!") and the guy was clearly smart too. When he was turning around to introduce himself to Scott, Hagrid had asked him for the answer to question twelve, fifth page, and he had answered immediately, providing an eloquent and correct response… I was sure that he wasn't listening. He had, however, notably added that Hagrid was slightly absent-minded. He didn't say it in a malicious way, but I was still defensive as I told him that "Hagrid wasn't always like this."

"He isn't?' Luke asked.

"Teddy left."

"Who's Teddy? Like a bear?'

"It's a tiger. It's his stuffed toy and – ' Then I was off. I told him all about Hagrid's loyalty, his sweet demeanour and how he did not deserve to have his most prized possession stolen from him. I said that Hagrid left his right pocket empty, just in case Teddy would appear there one day. I also mentioned that Hagrid was no longer allowed to keep his animals.

"Do you know who has it?' he said, scratching the back of his ear.

"No…' As soon as I had said it, I regretted the white lie, so I said, "Yes, I do."

"Make them give him back."

"I – I can't do that."

"Why not?'

"Because."

With that, he dropped the entire conversation and I turned to face my fellow Gryffindors standing by the stands with helmets and brooms in their hand.

-

McGonagall had suggested that I should submit my own name for the Head Girl position next year and one of the reasons why I was considering it was that I wanted to implement a new rule, a rule that allowed students to _not participate _in sports as they wished after their Fifth Year.

**Madame Hooche** was an assertive woman – she turned quickly to the new student, but broke into a rare smile when Luke politely said, "Sorry. I didn't want to intrude this way, but I'm new here..." He pointed at me with his thumb. "I'm following Jenny."

"Oh, yes. Just watch and if you would like to, you can take a broomstick."

"Thanks, ma'am."

Hooche sorted us into teams and wanted us to start a game. I wasn't even at all insulted when Trina had picked me for her team out of pity.

I had been _okay _playing Chaser as the girl who was in charge of marking me was a beginner as well and nowhere as aggressive as the other players who were actually on their house teams.

Five minutes into the game, I saw that Luke was mounting his broom confidently. I should have guessed, I mean, he had seemed graceful enough – I choked back a laugh as I saw him wobble in the air. Perhaps, I was wrong... I still wasn't sure what to make of him – he seemed so easygoing and nice at first glance, but he – he still had a way of making me feel completely different. I was normally so cool and calm and collected and it was weird to think that being around a celebrity could make me feel otherwise.

I saw Geri instruct him with a few words as he nodded certainly. Meanwhile, Steve flew by me with astonishing speed and I almost had to gasp. The adorable Hufflepuff smiled at Trina, who gave a weak smile back.

To put it simply, Steve McKnight was Trina's half-boyfriend. He was kind and polite, a complete sweetheart. Despite that I knew he hated sports like I did, he played Seeker to impress Trina, who was always taken by the more athletic men, and often competed as the Gryffindor Beater herself. In fact, I was sure that Trina was not in love with him – she told me that she was waiting for Luke Striker, but because Steve was taller than she was and head over heels in love with her, she would let him trail after her. She gets to go out and get drinks for free. For a wealthy heiress, Trina had a lot of money – she has a trust fund worth galleons… but she was always short on cash and I never understood why. Like her empty wallet, I was certain that she was morally bankrupt. Still, she was my best friend and I could not help but love her anyway. It annoyed me, though, whenever she dumped Steve for a date with someone else, which was every other week or so, because he would always come to me, asking me what he had done wrong.

And honestly, he _never _did anyone wrong, the poor boy. The only thing I was concerned about was his love for Trina. In addition to joining Quidditch for her – and bless, he was pretty darn good actually, he also sang baritone in the school choir. He wanted to spend every waking minute with her and if that included joining the choir, then so be it, just as long as he could "spend that extra two hours in rehearsal staring at her." I worried for him every hour of the day, which was why I was ecstatic to hear that Trina was going to the Christmas Ball Steve him this morning after breakfast. I knew that it would mean a lot to him.

I was still hanging in the air, watching as my teammates expertly flew by me. It amazed me to this day how they managed to score and play with such grace without their feet on the ground. I saw Luke floating next to one of the giant hoops. He beamed and my heart fluttered. I shook the strange feeling of euphoria from my head – it was ridiculous that I was getting all "star-struck," so to speak. I was never like that! Just as I dodged a ball from hitting me off my broom, I saw that Luke was shaking.

"Holy…' I heard him say. The next thing I heard? Someone fall onto the sandy pitch with a loud _thud_. "Ow…'

-

"It's your fault, you know that?' Luke said as soon as Madame Pomfrey let me rush in. I saw the redheaded, young man lying on the bed. His arm was on top of the blanket and thick bandages were wrapped around his hand.

"What? No," I mumbled. "It was your fault for being careless."

"And it was yours for not taking of me."

"That's ridiculous," I said quietly as I took a seat beside his bed.

"I'm telling on you."

"What in the name of Merlin…'

He blinked his brown eyes, then let out a chortle. "You're easy to rile up, Jenny."

"I am _not_!" I fumed like an immature child as he laughed again. He said that it had been a joke! That I shouldn't have fallen for it so easily!

I lifted my wand to his nose and he dared me to hex him into oblivion. I had a million spells up my sleeve and I could unleash –

"Jenny! Lucas!" The door flew open and in stormed Trina, who was wearing a mischievous and determined expression as she walked towards me. I could tell that she had already heard about the new student I was guiding, since she looked more than eager to meet him. Behind her was Scott and Steve – the poor boy was holding her broom for her for crying out loud!

Luke raised his head, pushing himself up to lean against the headboard. He turned to look at me with a helpless expression. "Who's the thin boy with the bobbing Adam's apple?'

"You'll see."

"Trina," I said quickly as the three of them _Accio_'d a few surrounding chairs to where I was sitting. "This is Lucas Smith. Lucas, this is Trina. That's Steve and you already met Scott?'

"Hey, Scott. Nice to meet you guys. I'm Lucas Smith," Luke said with a shrug. "Trina… you're the Quidditch captain."

Although she was sitting on a solid rocking chair, she practically squealed and said in a feminine voice I've never heard her use, "Why, yes. That is me. Did Jen tell you about me?' I could swear that she was twirling her hair around her finger.

"Yeah and I saw you play today."

Trina looked at me gratefully. I noticed that she was giving Luke's hand a little squeeze and I winced. Poor Steve!

"Steve! You played well today!" I interjected awkwardly as Trina became startled and looked back and forth between me and her "boy toy." I didn't want them to get into another fight when Trina had just announced that she would be attending the Ball with Steve! Meanwhile, I saw that Scott was trying his hardest to _not _laugh at my antics.

When Steve McKnight cleared his throat, muttering, "Thanks, Jenny," Madame Pomfrey came in again to tell us that Lucas was going to be fine, but that he had to return tomorrow afternoon for observation and that the process would be speeded up if we left…

-

Luke's arm was now hung in a cast. He smiled almost lopsidedly and I saw him wiggling his arm playfully. I had waited ten minutes for him outside the Hospital Wing when he came out. "I'm supposed to have choir tonight, but I told Professor Flitwick that you needed your rest and I was to – to look after you, so to speak."

"Choir? What's that like?'

"People sing," I said lamely as we walked back to the common room.

"Wow, that's new."

"It's a tradition. We sing with toads sometimes and Professor is quite serious about it."

"Do you like it?'

"I do not _dislike _it."

"That's not what I asked," he replied, swinging his arm awkwardly as we turned left when we reached the end of one corridor. At only five o'clock in the afternoon, I saw students walk by, sneaking a glance at my companion. Most of them, girls.

Even in his Lucas Smith disguise, the boy was still good-looking and carried himself with easy grace. It had only taken hours for the female population of Hogwarts to find him attractive.

We soon fell into comfortable silence, he humming quietly. I saw that two of my strides were equal to one of his, considering that he was well over six feet tall.

"What else do you do?'

I told him that I was a prefect, pointing at my badge. I was also organizing the Christmas Ball, in charge of decorating the venue, choosing the music, hiring the band, sending invitations and so forth.

"Cool."

I felt a bit tongue-tied for a moment, so I just said the first thing that came to my head. "Your film will not take place in a Wizarding college, so I cannot imagine how different that might be."

"You're talking about my movie? Who are you Rita Skeeter?'

"You know who Skeeter is?'

"My mom's magic – didn't anyone tell you?'

"I – they did," I mumbled, stopping before the Fat Lady as I pronounced the password.

"And school's school. It's all the same. It's the social experience I want."

Grabbing my Muggle book from the desk in the common room, he pointed at it.

"Psychology?"

"Yes," I said slowly. "Where's your – where's your room?"

"It's next to Andrew's." He raised a quirked eyebrow as he pointed at an issue of _Witch Weekly_. "I'll be entertaining myself with _that_."

She felt herself smile. "Rest. I'll be in the Great Hall if you need me."

-

Author's note: That's the second chapter for you. Hopefully, you've all enjoyed that. As always, reviews and comments are completely appreciated.


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